To understand where you're going, it always helps to look where you've come from. Cloud computing has come a long way since its inception, when Amazon was still only known for selling books and movies, Myspace was considered "cloud," and experts argued on the true definition of cloud computing -- though the latter can still be true. By delving into this cloud computing timeline, IT pros can learn from past ups and downs and have a clearer idea of where the cloud market is heading -- though, of course, there are always unforeseen hiccups that can alter its course, such as the PRISM scandal. This cloud retrospective aims to give a high-level view of cloud's history and question what that means beyond 2014.